Saving the Phoenix
by Talliya
Summary: When Rogue is possessed by Emily Gray it lets Rogue in on a little secret; possession counts as touching. And gaining the memories of this particular mutant sends Rogue and Wolverine on a mission across the world to save the Phoenix and Jean.
1. Conversation

OOC: I do not own X-Men or any of it's characters. I did make up several of the mutants that will be in this story, but most of them will be cannon characters.

IC:

Rogue walked up to Wolverine on the long forested road to the school. She was determined to at least make him hear her out this time, no evading or dodging the subject. Wolverine turned from his old motorcycle and faced her.

"Rogue? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

Rogue looked up at him and shook her head, "No, I graduated remember? And since my ability came back Storm has had me finding a way to control the power so that the only time I take another's energy is when I try to. Nothing to that degree so far, but Storm is hopeful. So are Bobby, Kitty, Kurt and Pete; they've been really supportive. I'm a bit skeptical myself. Though I have been able to control the amount of energy I take, Bobby and Kurt have been helping me with that by letting me hold onto their hands for long periods of time. I can manage the intake well enough that it takes about two hours for them to start feeling it. I don't know, maybe Storm's onto something? But I have to focus on that single thing in order for it to work; I can't try to do anything else at all, not even conversation. It kinda sucks." Rouge screwed up her face at this.

Wolverine laughed and pulled her into a bear hug, "Well that's something, right kid?"

Rogue smiled softly, "I missed you Logan."

Wolverine grinned, "I missed you too Marie."

"You were gone so long this time. When Aura picked your signature up on the road here I almost didn't believe him." Rogue pulled back to look him in the face; Wolverine looked down at her with a crooked grin on his face, his eyes however were a bit sad and far-away looking. Rogue sighed in defeat and she pulled out of the hug.

"Well I ended up going back to the Rockies in Canada and found my old house, still sittin' there in the middle of nowhere undisturbed; it brought back a lot of memories. I decided that it'd probably be better if I had someone out there with me, so I came back to see if you'd be up for it." Wolverine smirked, "If Iceman will let you go long enough. On the drive back a lot of things started to click into place. If you'd like to hear about it I could probably talk your ears off." Wolverine's eyes were smiling down at her now, no distance at all.

"Really?" Rogue looked up at him pleased to be thought of. "The loner actually wants company?"

"Yeah really. But I get the sense you met me out here for a reason." He inclined his head at her.

Rogue turned and strode a few paces away hesitating. "Well, I." Rogue whipped around, "I wanted you to know that...I realize you've had people you loved very deeply and that you can't forget them, Jean being one of them." An uncommon wind swept through the pause and made them both shiver uneasily. "But I wanted you to know that I love you Logan."

"So, what? What, why do...?" Wolverine didn't know what he was expected to do or say to that.

"I just wanted you to know that I love you. You don't have to return the feeling or anything." /But it'd be nice./ Rogue thought to herself, "You tend to avoid me when I start talking about feelings and stuff. So I decided that I'd make you hear me out anyway."

Wolverine smiled softly at her, "What about Iceman?"

Rogue looked up from her perusal of her shoes, "He's dating Shadow Cat now. After I decided to take the 'cure' our relationship kind of went downhill. Not because he was mad at me or anything, though he hadn't wanted me to do it. He was alright with it because it was my decision, something I truly wanted to do for myself." Rogue hastened to say, "But more because of me. I realized that I really didn't like him that much. And before you ask, no we didn't." Rogue said after seeing the look on Wolverines face. "I used to spend a lot of time with Jimmy," Rogue grinned sheepishly. "Guess I was hoping that being around him might make the 'cure' kick back in. Jimmy seemed to think it was funny that his ability is the only one I can't absorb. Which is ironic I guess. Anyway, I broke it off with Bobby because I kept calling for you in my sleep and I could tell how Kitty felt about him."

"So you're free then?" Rogue looked at him askance. "I was coming back to talk to you remember?" She nodded slowly. "I was gonna ask you if you would like to come with me. I got the urge to show you my home in Canada and maybe we could go check out the place I was born." Wolverine paused looking at her with a child-like hope in his expression. "Would you like to come with me?"

"I, I'd love too!" Rogue's eyes were bright with excitement. "But I'd have to go back and let Storm know I'm leaving. We _could_ just leave and let the psychics tell her, but that's rude." Rogue smiled and turned to walk back up the road to the school. The eerie wind came back and swirled around them like a tornado on low rev.

"Rogue!" Wolverine cried out in alarm, the familiar fingers across his mind giving him warning. Rogue fell to her knees as another mind shoved into her own.

'You think you can make him forget me?'

"No! Jean, that's not wha-!"

'*Gleeful laughter* I am not Jean Gray. I am the Phoenix! And now, thanks to you Rogue, I can be free of Jean! You can be my new puppet!'

Wolverine rushed toward Rogue, 'No! Logan don't!' But Jean's warning came too late and the Wolverine was thrown backward away from Rogue. "What?" Wolverine coughed out in confusion.

'Sorry.'

"Jean?"

'Yes, the Phoenix has hold of Rogue, she won't listen to me anymore, just pushes me aside. She wants to come back to life again, but she'd have to use MY body and she doesn't want that.'

"Wait. How does that work? Isn't she just another facet of yourself?"

"'No.'" Rogue stood and faced Wolverine jerkily, as if she were resisting an outside force. "'We are not the same person. We were twins but my body died and Jean didn't want to lose me, so she allowed me to reside within hers. I love my sister very much, I hadn't wanted to die and I'm greatful. But I've had enough!'" Rogue's voice sounded hollow and scratchy, like she wasn't used to using it.

Wolverine realized that the Phoenix probably wasn't, even when she was merged with Jean the voice was different between the two. "Let Rogue go, you shouldn't force yourself on people like that. I would have thought the Gray's had more manners than that." Wolverine was flippant.

'No.' Jean whispered through all of their minds, they could all imagine her closing her eyes as if to shut out something painful.

"'WHAT? You would compare me to people who barely cried over the still form of their already named daughter? You think I want to be associated with my last name!'" Rogue's body lifted into the air, her skin turned ashen and her eyes glowed red - the wind picked up and lashed out at Wolverine.

'Stop! Please. Let Rogue go, she's been used and manipulated by other mutants enough. Please, Emily don't do this.' Jean's mind was like cool water through Rogue's mind as she tried to calm the Phoenix.

Suddenly fire bloomed in Rogue's brain as Phoenix found the memories of her abuse by others. 'Fine, I'll let her go.' Phoenix sighed and Rogue fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. 'But I won't allow Wolverine to forget me. "I" want him, it was never you Jean, you had Cyclopes. But me?' Phoenix mentally shook her head.

"Rogue? Kid, you alright?" Wolverine was edging closer to the prone woman now lying in the middle of the street.

'She'll be alright Logan. She-." Jean's mental assurance was cut off as Phoenix slammed into Wolverine's mind.

'You are mine!'

"No, I'm not. You can look if you want Phoenix, but it was Jean that I was in love with."

'And now you love Rogue, who's attitude reminds you so much of Kayla? Pitiful.'

"Maybe, but I cared for her before I ever remembered any of that."

'*Frustrated scream* NO!' Phoenix rushed toward Rogue again but crashed into Jean instead.

'No!'

There was a blast of wind that woke Rogue with its force and as she sat up unsteadily they were both transfixed by Jean suddenly standing alive before them, "I'm sorry you guys."

"Jean?"

"Yeah Logan it's me. But I'm not very stable; Emily is a lot stronger than I am." Her hair seemed to catch or become fire. "Please, I realize *hesitation* I and the Phoenix, Emily, destroyed perhaps the one person that could help us. But could you try to find-." Jean disappeared in a gust of wind just as quickly as she'd come.


	2. Resting

Rogue's head jerked up and she glanced down the road away from the school, "We need to get back to the school, there are people coming up the drive." Rogue's voice was abused, but her own.

"How can you tell?"

"I was just taken control of by the Phoenix. That counts as touching." Rogue stood drunkenly, "I'm a bit woozy though."

Wolverine went over and swung her up into his arms, "Well, can you hold onto me for the ride back?" Rogue nodded and he noted that she was crying. They settled themselves on the bike and were off.

When they arrived at the school Storm and several others were waiting for them, Aura who had sensed Wolverine coming was shaking and crying from fear.

Storm looked up from comforting him and rested worried eyes on Rogue and Wolverine, "What just happened?"

"Jean, the Phoenix. There's, so much here... my head." Rogue held a hand to her forehead. "It's too much to process, but they need help. We have to find a way to help them! Jean is scared and I think Phoenix tried to kill me. I ~ really need to lie down." Wolverine scooped Rogue up off the bike as she fainted away.

"She still have the same room as before?"

"Ah? No, she has Jean and Scotts' old room." Storm answered him.

"Great, she's just down the hall then."

"Should I go and unlock your doors?" Colossus asked. Wolverine nodded and Pete jogged off as Wolverine and Storm followed at a walk, "So, what's new here?"

Storm smiled, "Well, Colossus, Night Crawler, Shadow Cat, Iceman, Havoc and Archangel have been teaching classes here. Rogue helps with those in combat training on occasion. I've been doing my best to keep the press out of the school, along with Beast's help." Wolverine quirked a brow, "Well most people realize now that this is a school for mutants, that's why we have someone with psychic ability watching the road in at all times. Luckily for us we have several. But it's tiring for them and most are very young. Our most powerful is only six years old; she's gotten so bored with being here that she's started watching the road in her sleep. She saved us from a rude paparazzi awakening the other day."

"I guess Rogue's comment that we could just take off and have the psychic's tell you makes sense now." Wolverine chuckled.

Storm rolled her eyes, "Yes, but she likes being responsible for herself, I think it makes her angry when they tell us what she's doing before she's decided to let us know herself."

"Yeah, well that one time it could have been really dangerous! I just didn't realize soon enough that she wasn't actually planning on doing it, she was just thinking about it." The boy frowned.

Storm put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "It's alright." Storm smiled softly, "Rogue has been trying to control her power, it's not what I'd had in mind originally, but it's progress of a sense." Storm smiled fondly down at Rogue, cradled peacefully in Wolverine's arms.

"Yeah, she was telling me about that."

They'd made it to Rogue's room and Night Crawler was there with a worried expression, "Is she alright?"

Wolverine nodded his head, "I think she'll be just fine. Having Phoenix in your mind is taxing, I'm pretty tired myself."

Night Crawler looked relieved and disappeared in a puff of smoke, "He's gone to tell Kitty and Bobby. They're out picking up newbies in Texas." Aura's soft voice filled in the answer for Storm's unasked question.

"He can jump that far?" wolverine was surprised, leaning down he placed Rogue on her bed and Colossus covered her with a quilt from a nearby chair.

"Here." He tossed Wolverine the key to his room and walked out.

"Rogue's not the only one who's been working at controlling their abilities. Night Crawler and Shadow Cat have progressed the most, but everyone is improving." Storm sighed in preparation of starting in on her long-winded version of Twenty Questions.

"Storm, the delegation is about to arrive." Aura's voice jerked her around, "I'd almost forgotten that. I'll talk to you later Logan." Storm waved as she went out to meet the newest potential threat at the front doors.

"Who exactly are you?" Wolverine asked of the tear-streaked waif who was most obviously psychic.

"I'm Aura."

"Ahh, the one who saw me coming. Is it your day to watch the road then?"

"Pretty much. Uh oh. I gotta go, DON'T tell Angel Butterfly that I was crying!" And the boy scampered off. A minute later a teenage girl walked up to the door, her upper arms showed tattoos that seemed to be the tips of butterfly wings.

"I heard Aura was over here?" The girl questioned.

"He just left, I'm not sure to where. You Angel Butterfly?" Wolverine turned in his seat beside Rogue's bed to look at her.

"Yep, that's me. Why?"

"Nothing really. Your name came up as a newbie is all."

The girl scowled, "I'm not a newbie!" Angel Butterfly was indignant.

Wolverine bowed his head, looking to his clenched fists for more patience and the correct phrasing he needed. "*sigh* I didn't mean that you were new to being a mutant or even that you were new to the school, simply that you are a new face to me since the last time I was here. Storm and Rogue have both filled me in some of what's new here since I've been gone."

"Oh," Angel Butterfly's expression was one of surprised consternation. "How long were you gone?"

Wolverine gave a half smile, "About six years this time. And hopefully once Rogue is feeling up to it, I'll be outta here again, taking her with me. But it might be more complicated than I'd originally planned." Wolverine trailed off remembering Jean and the Phoenix.

"Oh, well, I'm going to go find Aura." And she was gone.


End file.
